MUMBAI: Tata Play, the direct-to-home (DTH) platform, is gearing up to introduce groundbreaking addressable ads on linear television in India. This innovation, a first in the country, allows different ads to be displayed to diverse audiences during the same program, leveraging the additional satellite capacity recently acquired by Tata Play.
The move aims to empower advertisers with the ability to refine campaigns based on geographic locations and audience profiles, providing a more targeted approach to TV advertising.
Harit Nagpal, CEO and Managing Director of Tata Play, highlighted the significance of this development, stating, “While television delivers the highest advertising reach for brands, it doesn’t offer sharper targeting. With our targeted ad delivery, we can now split a TV spot into multiple beams, each carrying messages to distinctive audience cohorts, as required by the advertisers.”
The idea for this approach emerged several years ago, but technological and capacity constraints hindered its implementation until now. With the recent acquisition of 24 new Ku-band transponders on the communication satellite GSAT-24, Tata Play has increased its capacity by 50%, allowing for more channels, services, and enhanced picture quality.
Advertisers and media buying agencies have responded positively to the innovation, recognizing its potential to create significant inventory, improve media buying efficiencies, and enable niche advertisers to reach national audiences.
Tata Play has already secured a deal with a major broadcast network to implement this technology, with integration expected in the next 2-3 months. The platform collaborated with Invidi for ad tech and campaign management, while TAM will handle audience measurement and monitoring.
Explaining the process, Nagpal stated, “Once the program goes on a commercial break, we can split it into multiple beams, each taken by a relevant brand based on the cut they want. After the duration of the ads, the beams converge into one.”
This approach allows for mass customization, enabling digital-like media planning on television. Advertisers can enhance the precision of their linear TV ads through geographic and audience segmentation.
Tata Play plans to share in the premium charged by broadcasters for the split beams, with advertisers consolidating campaigns in highly targeted slots instead of multiple slots. Nagpal emphasized that this innovation does not imply a drop in advertising; rather, it will make advertising more efficient, attracting a broader range of advertisers to the table.
